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Hi There, This is my first experience working with Cordovan leather (bought it from cordovan.co) I was surprised by how easily this leather stains: I accidentally dropped a water drop and clean it rapidly with cloth and it create a mate stain. Before trying to clean the stain with other products, I replicate the stain in small remaining piece of cordovan leather: Replicating the water stain I put an small drop of water on the leather, rub it off with a clean cloth and the stain appeared instantly. Trying to clean the stain I tried to use Neatsfoot oil: didn’t worked, stain is still there. I tried to use Saphir Creme Universelle: didn’t worked, stain is still there it made the leather lost his shine. Could someone with more experience with this leather help me regain the shine of this leather? Thanks in advance

I recently bought some unglazed natural cordovan and I was wondering how can I achieve similar results to horween's finish. I googled aniline leather dyes and I came across aniline leatherworld tech dyes. I never heard of them before and I don't see much mentioned about them from smaller leather communities, but than again I am a newbie to leatherwork. Does anyone have experience with dying cordovan that is willing to lay down some wisdom? Also, what is up with leatherworld tech? Does anyone have experience using their dyes? Thanks to anyone willing to provide info!

Full image process here. Warning: Image album is 94 image of the entire process! So this is a bit of something different... I figured it warranted being posted here since it is made from an awesome pair of old shoes. The Backstory Someone on StyleForum messaged me and asked if I had ever made any wallets from old pairs of shoes. I told him I hadn't but I'd be willing to give it a shot but couldn't guarantee any results. He sent the shoes off and they arrived last night. Initially seeing the shoes, I didn't think I'd be able to make anything from them beyond a lanyard due to the limited space of "clean" shell. After thinking about it, I decided to get crafty and use anything I could. The Shoes He sent me a pair of size 7 vintage Alden 986 Leisure Handsewn #8 Shell Cordovan Loafers. The markings on the inside indicate these are from a year ending in 4. Based on their wear and use, I'd guess they are from either 1994. Could be 2004 or even earlier too -- it's just a guess. These had a ton of wear but are built like bricks. Deconstruction I wanted to check out the interior components so I ripped off the heel and started removing the uppers from the sole. It was cool to check out the steel shank and all the cork on the inside. The Process Luckily I have my cutting dies and 4 ton clicking press otherside this would have been significantly more difficult and messy. Removing the uppers was as easy as cutting along the bottom as close to the sole as I could with an Xacto blade. I messed around with a few different components for the card holder including using the folded portions of the upper near the top of where you put your foot in, but that ended up being way too thick so I had to rethink my plan. Burnishing, beveling and sanding were all the same process so that wasn't too difficult. The edges were tough because the shell had rolls in it from use but it ended up working out. Piercing all the holes and hand stitching was just like normal too -- actually probably easier because the shell was so soft. The result turned out a lot better than I expected. I think they are kind of a cool tribute to the Alden 986 and will allow the customer to have this repurposed item to use for many years to come. In terms of time, this took *significantly* longer than doing a normal card holder just because the deconstruction took awhile and making sure different parts were getting glued down properly. From start to finish, it probably took me around 2.5 hours. If I were to do it again in the future, it'd probably only take around 1.5 hours since I know a bit more of what I was doing this time. It was a fun side project -- maybe I can do something like this in the future.

Hello all! I have a few questions lined up that may have very basic and straight forward answers but to the novice they are quite confusing! What part of the tanning process makes a finished hide soft and luxurious to touch compared to hard? What part of the tanning process makes the flesh side rough or smooth (like the top side)? What part of the tanning process makes the leather firm or flexible and floppy. I have asked some people in the past but have never had a suitable answer, some have said it depends on the thickness of the leather but some leathers can be very thick and very soft to touch and vice versa with thin leathers, or very thick but still floppy or very thin and very firm. Also, what is the difference between bridle leather and harness leather, and do that both have smooth bottom sides? And does anyone have any suggestions for a waxy feel of shell Cordovan from either Horween or Clayton but from a cowhide rather than just the small horse shells? I am making leather wallets and purses and have found that 1.5-2mm or around 3oz is the perfect thickness for what I want to produce without the wallets becoming too bulky, what recommendations would anyone have for leather having the above mentioned waxy feel but with a bridle type flesh side, to avoid bulking up even more with lining. And if I were to line the wallets is pig skin or goats skin the best option, or is it just down to preference? From reading the posts on this forum I've become accustomed to there being no wrong answer but just many individual preferences. I am based in the UK so as well as this long list of queries if anyone had recommendations for suppliers that would be perfect too! Many thanks in advance! Ross

hey all, does anyone have any brownish shell cordovan? i don't need much, but i'd be very grateful for any assistance. ordering it at the moment is near-impossible because of a dearth of material. thanks! tommy